Wednesday, August 9, 2017

The Starbucksization of our town

A Starbucks is opening in our town soon, a happening that's been as hotly debated on my local Facebook group as anything our president does. I've had mixed feelings. (About Starbucks.)

If I had to choose between coffee chains, I'm Team Dunkin'. Dave is Team Starbucks, so he's psyched, but I find their coffee bitter. While I like Fraps, my waistline sure doesn't. My favorite is their shaken iced tea (Passion Tango), and when cravings strike it's easy enough to grab one from the town a mile away. I get my iced coffee (Jamaica Me Crazy) from the coffee shop in town I've frequented for the 15 years that we've lived here. Some Facebook commenters worried that it, along with the coffee-serving bakery shops, will suffer from lost customers.

I love our town's core shopping district, with its mix of independent stores. It's charming and old-school awesome. I enjoy buying gifts at the toy store, where the owner, Erin, always has cool recommendations, and browsing in the bookstore with the kids. We have no McFood places because of an ordinance restricting fast-food chains; town officials said Starbucks isn't one, but perhaps they were buzzed from their double-shot ventis.

Other commenters pointed out the positives, like new jobs—one woman posted that she was going to be working 20 hours a week, with good benefits and plenty of time to spend with her girls. Someone noted that towns need to modernize, and that when ours first got a nail salon there was an uproar. This Starbucks will stay open till 10:00, unlike the coffee shop that closes around 7. And because it won't serve a full menu of food, people don't believe the coffee shop will be affected.

One person hoped this was one of the Starbucks that serves wine and beer. But: no.

In the end, I don't think we're on the verge of a coffeepocalpyse. The Starbucks could attract more visitors to town, who might then shop at other stores. Not for nothing, people looking to move to our town are more likely to be excited than alarmed by its presence. Those like me who already have their preferred fix for caffeine will likely stay loyal, and the Starbucks crowd can have their Frap and drink it, too.

I like milk more than I like coffee (I'll have some coffee with my milk, please!) but I get the appeal of Starbucks, it's a grownup treat. It's mind-boggling to me that back when I was a kid growing up in NY, the only takeout coffee options that existed were the garden-variety kind you got at diners or grocery stores.

I wish our town had a coffee shop, period!! I live in a small town that's around 1300 people and have to drive 30 minutes to get to the closest coffee shop. But, it's probably a good thing that we don't have one because there would go all my money, lol.

This is totally mind-boggling to me, I live in big-city LA where I pass I think 4 Starbucks' and 3 Coffee Beans on the 4.5 mile drive to work. Depending what side of the street I am on, depends where I stop. That's so LA.

I like Starbucks simply for the fact that it was one of the first major US companies to offer health insurance coverage for part-time employees. A couple of my friends work at one locally and they tell me that any Starbucks employee who doesn't already have a bachelor's degree can earn one for free through an online program that they sponsor. It's not my favorite coffee shop, but it's not a bad company. I think they definitely get brownie points for their treatment of employees.